Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple tickets and tours: which one to book

The Shaolin Temple lies at the foot of Mount Song near Dengfeng, about 75 km south-west of Zhengzhou and 50 km south-east of Luoyang, so the first decision is how to get there. The cheapest way is by long-distance bus from either city to Dengfeng and on to the scenic area, but most foreign visitors book either an entry ticket with a shuttle or a private day trip with driver and guide. The plain entry ticket covers the whole scenic area: the monastery itself, the Pagoda Forest and the regular kung fu demonstrations given by students of the martial arts schools. Several sellers bundle it with a digital map or advice for the visit, and some add the round-trip shuttle from Zhengzhou.

Day trips from Luoyang commonly pair the temple with the Longmen Grottoes, while trips from Zhengzhou may add the Song Yang Academy or a walk on Mount Song; these normally include entry, transport and an English-speaking guide, with lunch sometimes extra. Visitors coming from further afield can join packages that use the high-speed train from Beijing, Xi'an or Wuhan. For a deeper experience there are tours that add a short kung fu class with an instructor, and multi-day trips that combine Shaolin with Kaifeng. The cable cars on Mount Song and the battery cars inside the scenic area are paid separately on the spot.

Visiting Shaolin Temple: what to see and how to behave

Shaolin was founded in 495 by the Northern Wei emperor for the Indian monk Batuo, and tradition holds that Bodhidharma arrived here in 527 and spent nine years meditating in a cave above the temple, making it the birthplace of Chan, the school known in Japan as Zen. The monastery is also the legendary cradle of Shaolin kung fu, and martial arts schools with thousands of pupils now line the valley. The temple was burned and rebuilt several times, most destructively in 1928, so much of what you see is restored, though the buildings form part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the historic monuments of Dengfeng. From the car park a battery car or a long walk brings you past the martial arts performance hall to the mountain gate.

Inside, halls rise one behind another along the central axis: the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Mahavira Hall and, at the back, the Thousand Buddha Hall, whose brick floor is said to be worn into hollows by generations of monks practising their stances, beneath a large Ming-period mural of the arhats. Look also for the forest of carved stone steles in the courtyards. A short walk west of the monastery is the Pagoda Forest, more than 200 brick and stone burial pagodas of abbots and eminent monks, built over some 1,200 years. Further up the slopes are the cave of Bodhidharma and the Chuzu Temple, reached on foot or by cable car. Photography is allowed in the courtyards but often not inside the halls; burn incense only at the designated burners.

Shaolin Temple: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The scenic area opens daily from early morning until late afternoon, with slightly shorter hours in winter; check the official site for the current times and show schedule. Arrive soon after opening to see the halls before tour groups arrive from Zhengzhou and Luoyang, usually around 10 am. The kung fu demonstrations run several times a day, so plan your walk around the next showing. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with mild weather for the paths on Mount Song and clear views;

summer is hot and busy with Chinese school holidays, while winter is cold but quiet. Avoid the national holiday week in early October and the Spring Festival period if you can, when the site is packed. Allow at least half a day for the monastery, the Pagoda Forest and a show, and a full day if you want to hike to the Bodhidharma cave or ride the cable car on Mount Song. The Song Yang Academy and the Songyue Pagoda, among the oldest brick pagodas in China, are near Dengfeng and complete the picture.